College Softball News – Guilford Trio Lands All-State Honors

GREENSBORO, N.C. –Guilford College’s Cynthia Hayes (Seagrove, N.C./Southwestern Randolph) and Marty Wilcox (South Charleston, W. Va./Charleston Catholic (Florida Southern)) earned First Team College Division All-State softball recognition from the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA) Wednesday. The Quakers’ Rachel Howard (Hillsborough, N.C./Cedar Ridge) was a second-team honoree.

The all-state squads consist of NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA student-athletes from North Carolina colleges and universities. North Carolina sports information directors submitted nominees and NCCSIA members selected the team for the 11th straight year.

Hayes, a second baseman, received First Team All-America honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) last month, a Guilford first. She also became the first Quaker named to receive two NFCA First Team All-Atlantic region accolades. Hayes was also Guilford’s third three-time All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) softball selection. In a school-record 44 contests, Hayes boasted the league’s top figures in batting average (.532), on-base percentage (.599), runs (63), hits (74), and doubles (23). She set school standards for runs, hits, doubles, and times hit by a pitch in a season (11). Her league-record 23 doubles led the nation and rank 10th in Division III history.
Hayes ranked third among Division III leaders in runs per game (1.43), fourth in batting average, sixth in on-base percentage, and doubles per game (0.52). She had a school- and ODAC-record 31-game hitting streak and reached base in 41 straight games this season. The hitting skein is fifth-longest in Division III history. She had 25 games with two or more hits, including three four-hit efforts, and won the league’s Hitter of the Week Award Feb. 17.

The all-state honor is the latest in Hayes’ illustrious college tenure. A 2013 first-team all-state performer, she concluded her career as the ODAC’s and Guilford’s career batting leader (.467). Hayes graduated with the school’s career standards for on-base percentage (.522), runs (157), hits (211), doubles (41), and time hit by pitch (23). She also holds Guilford season marks for batting average (.598, 2013), slugging percentage (.805, 2013), triples (4, 2011), stolen bases (19, 2013) and times hit by pitch. A dean’s list student and resident advisor at Guilford, she earned degrees in exercise and sports sciences and health sciences at the school’s May 17 commencement.

Wilcox, a junior, filled the utility position on the all-state team. She was third-team at-large selection to the NFCA’s All-Atlantic Region squad and earned First Team All-ODAC honors after splitting time between shortstop, outfield and designated player in her school-record 44 games. Wilcox led the league in triples (4), total bases (106) and RBI (51), all school records. She smacked a school-record 11 home runs, which ranked 23rd nationally. Her slugging percentage stood fourth (.729) in the conference and her 58 hits are fifth-best. Wilcox led the Quakers with 13 multiple-RBI games, including a career-best six RBI contest in an April 18 win over Southern Virginia University. She captured the ODAC’s Hitter of the Week Award April 21 after hitting .800 with three homers and eight RBI in Guilford’s 3-0 week.

After two Guilford seasons, Wilcox has a .394 career batting average and .709 slugging percentage in 70 games. She ranks third in school history with 16 career home runs.

Howard, a 5-7 first baseman, played in 40 contests, starting most of the contests at first base. The junior finished second on the team and fifth in the ODAC in batting average (.427). She was also second on the club in home runs (6) and runs batted in (38). Howard was fifth among ODAC RBI per game leaders (0.95) and sixth in RBI. Her on-base percentage (.479) was second on the team while her slugging percentage (. 641) ranked third. Howard collected 20 multi-hit contests, including a streak of five consecutive games with more than one hit. The junior amassed a 12-game hitting streak in the middle of the season. She had three RBI in a game three times and totaled five RBI in a 4-for-5 effort at Southern Virginia April 18, in which she hit her fifth home run of the season.

Through 113 career games, Howard boasts a .372 batting average and stands eighth in school history with 80 career RBI. Her 26 doubles and nine home runs rank ninth all-time at Guilford.

The trio helped coach Dennis Shores’ Quakers to their finest season in school history. Guilford set the school standard with a 29-15 record and took third at the eight-team ODAC Tournament. The Quakers set or tied at least 17 school or individual season records and return everyone save Hayes, the team’s lone senior, in 2015.